Rise
by warriorshadowmist
Summary: After a terrible battle that left only RiverClan intact, the Clan has been suffering. StarClan has not contacted them since the destruction of the other three Clans. Or have they? And who are the strange new cats that have come to the forest?
1. P r o l o g u e

**Prologue**

The night was silent, but Silverpelt shone above, watching over the small band of cats. All were asleep but one, who sat awake, staring at the stars. She was a very tall tan she-cat with strange leopard spot-like markings throughout her fur. Her bright yellow eyes glittered anxiously as she stared at the stars. After seasons of being alone, she was hoping that tonight would finally be the night that StarClan would speak to them again. Her tail twitched in anticipation as a star streaked across the sky. She watched its progress with eager eyes, hoping that it would land and be one of their ancestors so she could know what to do from here.

A rustle in the bushes behind her made her whip around and glare into the darkness, her fur bristling and her teeth bore. There was a gentle purring as a huge white tom padded into the moonlight, the black flecks in his fur standing out plainly in the light. He fixed his dark blue eyes on the she-cat and sat down in front of her, glancing up to the stars as well.

"Be patient, Furzestar. StarClan will speak to us when they are ready. I'm sure they haven't forgotten about us. It's only been –" He was interrupted by an angry hiss from the she-cat.

"It's been nearly _twenty-four_ moons, Hailstorm. Twenty-four moons that StarClan has abandoned us for. Maybe we should just give up. I highly doubt that we are ever going to hear from them again." Her tail drooped in sadness as she realized what she was admitting.

Hailstorm leaned forward and gave her a gentle nudge with his head. Then he turned his gaze back to the stars and took a deep breath, held it for a few seconds, and let it out. The huge white tom turned back to Furzestar and flicked her shoulder with his tail.

"Have faith, Furzestar. You've kept the Clan alive for this long. Without you, they'd be lost. I promise you that I will never abandon you. I'll stand by your side until StarClan finally contacts us again."

. . .

From inside her den, Bumbletail listened quietly to what her leader and deputy were saying with a nervous twitch of her tail. She backed into the shadows as they padded by, heading to their separate dens. The medicine cat turned around abruptly as they disappeared, heading for the small pool of water at the back of her den. She dipped a paw into the pool and closed her eyes, concentrating hard. Then she drew her paw across her muzzle and placed it on the ground again.

Bumbletail was no longer alone. Three cats stood around her, their eyes dark with worry. The first to speak was a golden tabby tom whose amber eyes were bright in the darkness.

"Bumbletail, none of this is wrong. Hiding the fact that you are speaking to us will not trouble you for much longer." Bumbletail glanced at the golden warrior and sighed.

"Lionstar... how can you be sure? No, don't answer that, Rowanstar." She grumbled, glancing at the ginger leader who was sure to be the next to speak. The ginger tom purred and shook his head slowly.

"You know us too well, Bumbletail. But you are the one connection we need right now. Furzestar isn't ready to accept what happened. She only knows the stories of her ancestors. They told her that WindClan was destroyed in a fire, but you know the real truth – " The last cat interrupted her, a blue-gray she-cat with blue eyes.

"Breezestar joined his Clan with the Dark Forest and destroyed our three Clans, save for a few other cats. Luckily, he is dead now. But the only Clan to survive all of this is RiverClan. What about the other three Clans? Although WindClan was bad at once, a new one would not be bad - under the right guidance." Bumbletail sighed and nodded.

"Yes, thank you for the refresher, Mistystar. But when are these four cats going to come? You've told me about them but I've been waiting nearly ten moons for them to arrive. How much longer will it be?" Lionstar stepped forward, his golden tabby fur glorious even in the dark light.

"Soon, Bumbletail. Be patient and they will come. They will come…" his voice trailed off as the three disappeared into the darkness.

Bumbletail sighed and stared up at the stars outside of her den. _I hope, for all of the Clan's sakes, that they do come._


	2. C h a p t e r 1 : Death

**Hello, it's been a while, hasn't it? Yes, I know, I never finish my stories. I'm trying my best with this ones. Reviews will really help, especially to give me more ideas. This story will be mainly from the viewpoint of Flypaw for now, but it will switch to other POV's as we go on. Enjoy and please, please, review!****  
**

Flypaw bounded out of the apprentice's den, the white patch on his chest bright against his black fur. It was his third day of apprenticeship and he loved it already! The energetic young apprentice bowled into another cat in his eager pursuit of training.

He flopped onto the ground with an _oof_ and glanced up to see who he had hit. It was Bravepaw, one of the other apprentices. The dark gray tom was older than Flypaw, and so the black apprentice quickly backed up in embarrassment, his ears pinned to his head.

"I'm soooooo sorry, Bravepaw!" Flypaw squeaked to the older apprentice sheepishly. The older apprentice blinked down at the younger apprentice, his eyes sparkling in amusement.

"That's alright, Flypaw. Just watch where you're going next time! You're not the only cat in camp, remember?" Flypaw nodded and dipped his head as Bravepaw padded away, his tail tip twitching.

Just when he thought he was off the hook, Flypaw spotted a yellow and black warrior watching him from across camp. The black and white apprentice shifted nervously in place as the warrior got up and slowly made his way toward Flypaw.

"Before you say anything Finchtalon, I would just like to say that I was so blinded by the bright sun that I could possibly see Bravepaw in front of the apprentice's den."

His mentor narrowed his eyes as he arrived at Flypaw, looking unimpressed and amused with his excuse. The yellow and black warrior flicked his tail at the sky and shook his head.

"Unfortunately for your excuse, young Flypaw, there is no sun today. Maybe next time you should check the weather." Flypaw ducked his head in embarrassment for the second time that day already, but was glad to see the humor in his mentor's eyes, suggesting that he wasn't really angry.

"I'm sorry Finchtalon. It won't happen again, I swear. Now can we go train?" The hyper apprentice went from embarrassment to excitement in under three seconds, which made Finchtalon's head spin. The yellow and black warrior smiled and shook his head in amazement before nodding to his apprentice.

"Alright, let's go. We're going to work on swimming and fishing today, so I hope you're up for lots of hard work!" he meowed, turning away from his apprentice and springing out of camp. Flypaw's paws skidded across the sandy ground as he sprang after his mentor and towards the river.

. . .

Flypaw slid to a stop in the mud next to the river, watching in amazement as his mentor slipped into the water and began to swim with strong, sure strokes. Finchtalon turned to his apprentice and grinned.

"Come on, eager apprentice. You're not afraid of the water, are you?" With a playful hiss and a quick shake of his head, Flypaw bunched his hind legs underneath him and splashed into the cold water.

He was so unprepared for the chill of the water and gasped as it took his breath away. Shivering profusely, Flypaw stroked as hard as he could in the direction of his mentor, wishing he had slipped into the water like Finchtalon had instead of jumping in. Finchtalon's eyes glimmered in amusement, but there was sympathy there too.

"First rule of swimming – always test the temperature of the water before plunging in." Flypaw nodded, trying his best to listen over the loud chattering of his own teeth. "Second rule – _never_ swim without a warrior or experienced apprentice until I deem you able enough to swim alone. That is _very_ important. Got it, Flypaw?"

Flypaw shivered from both the cold and the deadly serious tone of his mentor's voice. He swallowed hard and nodded, trying his best to keep his legs moving in the freezing water. Finchtalon's ears twitched as he realized just how cold the water was.

"Well, today doesn't seem to be a great day for swimming, so let's get out and try some fishing, okay?" Flypaw nodded eagerly and was out of the water eons before Finchtalon. His mentor shook his fur like a dog and did his best to lick himself dry before speaking. It took quite a while, so Flypaw copied him. When Finchtalon was finished, he looked up and began to speak.

"Alright. Fishing is not as easy as it looks so you'd better pay very close attention." Flypaw sat up straight and opened his eyes wide, giving his full and undivided attention to his mentor. The edges of Finchtalon's mouth curled up in a sort of smile as he watched his apprentice.

But just as they were about to begin, a light gray she-cat with black paws thundered towards them, her tail waving. Finchtalon was alert at once, his fur bristling and his claws unsheathing.

"What is it, Emberblaze?" he demanded. The younger warrior panted for a moment, trying to catch her breath, before answering Finchtalon.

"Furzestar says she has some urgent announcements that can't wait! She wants everyone back at camp _now._" Flypaw looked at his mentor with wide eyes, wondering what could be wrong. But Finchtalon looked quite unconcerned.

"It's probably just another warrior ceremony, Emberblaze. I don't see why she has to make such a big deal out of this. Sure, they are important ceremonies, but you'd think that the survival of the Clan depended on them." Emberblaze merely twitched her ears in agreement and fell into step with Finchtalon and Flypaw as they padded back to camp.

. . .

The Clan was already gathered around ReedPile when the trio arrived, so they quickly found their places amongst the ranks. Flypaw took a seat next to his brother, Driftpaw, and waited for Furzestar to speak. He noted that Hailstorm appeared uneasy as he sat at his place at the bottom of ReedPile, facing the Clan. Flypaw found that a little strange, because the huge white and black warrior never seemed fazed by anything that happened in the Clan. But his thoughts were interrupted by Furzestar's voice.

"I'm sure you all think that we are here to perform a few ceremonies." There was a collective murmur of agreement that arose from the Clan, and Furzestar waved her tail impatiently for silence. "However, that is not the only reason we are here today. Bumbletail believes she has finally received a sign from StarClan, and we can only hope that she is correct."

Flypaw looked up in surprise. He had heard all of the stories from the elders about the once great four Clans that had roamed the lands surrounding RiverClan and had worshipped their warrior ancestors they called StarClan, but he was unsure about the stories. It hadn't been that long ago, however, because Troutsplash, Graymist, and several others had once known cats from those Clans. They had supposedly survived a great battle that had left the other Clans with no cats. RiverClan, because they were obviously superior or something, had all descended from the ten RiverClan cats that survived the attack. Flypaw was told that he was the grandson or great grandson of one of the four leaders, Mistystar. He wasn't sure if he believed it. They had never heard anything from StarClan, so why should they now?

"…so will Bravepaw please step forward?" Flypaw blinked in surprise, realizing he had spaced out. Bravepaw was stepping forward, obviously ready to receive his warrior name. Flypaw felt a prickle of jealousy, but also a surge of happiness for his denmate. Furzestar turned her gaze to the sky, her eyes glittering with something – uneasiness?

"I, Furzestar, leader of RiverClan, call upon my warrior ancestors to look down on this apprentice. He has trained hard to understand the ways of your noble code, and I commend him to you as a warrior in his turn." Furzestar then looked down at Bravepaw.

"Bravepaw, do you promise to uphold the warrior code and to protect and defend your Clan, even at the cost of your life?" The dark gray tom's eyes sparkled in excitement, but he answered calmly.

"I do."

"Then, by the powers of StarClan, I give you your warrior name. Bravepaw, from this moment on you will be known as Braveheart. StarClan honors your determination and intelligence, and we welcome you as full member of RiverClan."

Furzestar jumped gracefully off of ReedPile and rested her muzzle on Braveheart's forehead. Braveheart licked her shoulder and stepped back as RiverClan began to cheer for their newest warrior.

"Braveheart! Braveheart!" The newly made warrior puffed out his chest in pride and basked in the warmth of their praise. He went to be congratulated, but was stopped by Furzestar's voice.

"Silence, RiverClan! Bumbletail must speak." The Clan looked up in surprise as the small medicine cat sat nervously atop of ReedPile, shuffling her paws underneath her. The Clan grew restless as she stayed quiet, and whispers started, spreading like a wildfire across the ground. Bumbletail finally gained courage when Furzestar whispered something in her ear. She spoke in a shaky yet clearly audible voice.

"They will come. The four will come. They will save us all."

Bumbletail's eyes suddenly rolled back into her head and she abruptly fell at the Clan's feet, dead.

**Dun dun dun... kind of. Poor, poor Bumbletail. I needed a little cliffie at the end, so I decided to kill her. Yay! Next chapter should be longer... I hope. Sorry, still getting fanfiction back under my belt again. It's been a while. xP**


	3. C h a p t e r 2 : Mysterious Strangers

**One more chapter for today. I'll try and update by Friday. You guys can hold that to me! :3 Enjoy this chapter and please review!**

Shocked wails arose from the cats as they watched Bumbletail's body fall to the ground. Furzestar leapt from her position on ReedPile and nosed at the medicine cat's body. Her yellow eyes were filled with fear as she looked up at her Clan.

"She's dead."

A hush fell over the cats. The first to step forward was Troutsplash, a pale gray tabby she-cat. Her tail twitched as she looked down at the still body of Bumbletail.

"I was alive when Mothwing was still our medicine cat. She taught me about some of the herbs right before the huge battle, just in case she didn't make it. I'm too old to take over Bumbletail's position, but I can pass on my skills to one who is willing to learn." The elderly tabby's voice was quiet and full of sorrow. Furzestar glanced up, nodded, and looked back down at Bumbletail.

"Thank you, Troutsplash." she murmured quietly, before looking at her Clan. "Who would like to learn the ways of a medicine cat?" The tall leader's eyes were pleading as she waited for someone to offer themselves for the job. After a few moments, a brown tabby she-cat stepped forward. Flypaw identified her as Cloverpatch, one of the more timid warriors.

"I'd be willing, Furzestar. I've always been a bit unsure about fighting, and I think that I would enjoy being a medicine cat." Her apprentice, Daisypaw, looked on in disbelief. Cloverpatch smiled wanly at her apprentice and looked back to Furzestar. "I'd also like to give my apprentice to Emberblaze. I think that she will be in good paws there." Furzestar nodded in agreement and bowed her head.

"It is decided then. Troutsplash will teach Cloverpatch to be the next medicine cat of RiverClan. We can only hope that StarClan will accept you and guide your paws in the right direction."

Flypaw stared in silence as the Clan gathered around Bumbletail to pay their respects. Finchtalon nudged him gently, trying to get him to join the rest of the Clan, but gave up after a little while. There were no words for this.

. . .

Cloverpatch settled into the medicine cat's den and was soon learning the herbs quickly from Troutsplash. There were still things that Troutsplash did not know, however, which Cloverpatch hoped to learn from StarClan. After Troutsplash taught Cloverpatch all she knew, she retired to the elder's den.

Flypaw watched all of this with the same stony silence that he had on the day that Bumbletail had died. Although he still participated in all of the training sessions that Finchtalon prepared for him, he was usually not mentally there. Finchtalon grew concerned after a half-moon of this, and decided to speak with his apprentice.

"Flypaw, if you don't snap out of it, Morningkit and Talonkit will be warriors before you!" Flypaw was surprised at the ferocity of his mentor's voice, and he blinked his eyes twice before answering.

"I'm sorry Finchtalon," he whispered, his eyes still looking haunted. "It's just…" Finchtalon's brow furrowed in confusion.

"Just what?" he asked, hoping to finally find out what was up with his apprentice.

"Well, those four cats that Bumbletail spoke about… it's just that I've been having dreams about them too." He blinked up into his mentor's astonished face. "Is that normal?"

. . .

Furzestar was furious when she discovered that Flypaw had been hiding these dreams from her.

"You didn't think it important to tell me?" She hissed, the fur along her spine bristling. Flypaw cowered, his ears flattening against his head.

"W-well I thought I was going crazy or something," he stammered, and Furzestar's eyes immediately softened. She leaned forward and gave Flypaw a gently lick on his head.

"I'm sorry, Flypaw. It's just that I've been waiting for StarClan to contact us for so long. Now, tell me, what happened in these dreams?" she asked, sitting down and curling her tail over her paws. Flypaw hesitated, and then began to speak, his voice starting quiet and getting stronger as he went.

"They told me a story. Not like the one that the elders tell all the time, however. It was different. It went something like this…

"Mistystar, Bramblestar, Blackstar, and Onestar were once the four greatest leaders. However, trouble was brewing in WindClan. A young warrior named Breezepelt was discovered to be working with the warriors of the Dark Forest, and he was planning to take over all four Clans. Mistystar, Bramblestar, and Blackstar were shocked when they arrived at a Gathering one moon and discovered that Onestar had supposedly died of Greencough, as well as Ashfoot, his deputy. Breezepelt declared that StarClan had visited him in his dreams and determined him as the new leader of WindClan. He introduced himself as Breezestar, along with his new deputy, Harespring.

"Everything went downhill from there. ShadowClan found Blackstar mysteriously dead, and Rowanclaw was appointed the new leader. Then Bramblestar was found dead, and Lionblaze became the next leader. The mysterious deaths were all determined to be murder, but there was no fur between their claws to determine the killer.

"Then the battle began. Breezestar attacked ShadowClan in the dead of night, which probably wasn't his best idea. However, he had gathered the Dark Forest to fight with him and therefore created a force large enough to destroy all three Clans. ShadowClan was lost before they could send help or a warning to any other Clan. None survived.

"Next was ThunderClan. Lionstar and his warriors fought bravely and managed to kill a good portion of Breezestar's forces, but they were all killed in the end. RiverClan was last. ThunderClan had managed to send a wounded apprentice to warn RiverClan of the attack, so they were prepared. In the end, only ten RiverClan cats survived. Breezestar was killed but the damage was done."

Flypaw hesitated for a second, glancing at his leader. She nodded, encouraging him to continue, and so he did.

"But out of the ashes rose the RiverClan of today, thanks to those ten cats that managed to survive. The warrior code exists today, and therefore we can exist today. But the Clans must be rebuilt. That is where the four come in. I couldn't really see them in my dream, but I know they were there, and they are close. Very close."

Flypaw looked down at his paws as he finished, his eyes blank. Furzestar hesitated before stepping forward and giving him a gentle nudge. The apprentice blinked and looked back at his leader, relief pouring into his eyes. He looked relieved to finally get the story off of his chest. Furzestar smiled at Flypaw.

"You did well, Flypaw. Don't worry about it. Why don't you go get some rest while I talk to Hailstorm about this?" Flypaw nodded and padded out of the den. Finchtalon rushed in, looking concerned. Furzestar opened her mouth to tell him that Flypaw was okay, but she was shocked to find herself interrupted by the senior warrior.

"Furzestar, come quick! There are four strange cats in the clearing. They say they must speak with you. Now."

Furzestar dashed into the clearing, her eyes wide with anticipation. When she spotted the four cats, she stared at them for a moment, shocked. They were all so strange! Each cat had an interesting marking or something else. Furzestar turned to Flypaw, wondering what he thought of the four.

Flypaw's eyes were stretched wide with wonder and recognition. He stepped forward, quivering, and looked at all of them in turn before speaking.

"You! You're the cats from my dreams!" Flypaw seemed very excited now, and his tail swished back and forth with obvious happiness. The leader of the four stepped forward to speak. He was a huge dark gray tom, bigger than even Hailstorm, with a lighter gray patch across his eyes. When he spoke, it sounded like water running over rocks and was very soothing.

"So, you are the cat that has been receiving our dreams? That's interesting. Only an apprentice? Well, you must be very special, to have StarClan choose you over all of these cats." Flypaw dipped his head and was uncharacteristically silent. The tom turned his attention to Furzestar now, his eyes calm.

"My name is Silver. I'm assuming you are Furzestar?" Furzestar nodded, her mouth dropping open in awe and shock. Silver purred in amusement and waved his tail at his companions. "This –" he began, pointing to a blue-gray tom who had black that reached to his shoulders on all of his legs. "Is Ripple. He is a superb fighter, and also a great swimmer." Ripple dipped his head to Furzestar and waited for the next cat to be introduced.

Silver's tail next indicated a ginger she-cat who had a strange yellow marking on her back. It started on her ears and extended to her tail-tip. "This is Dawn," Silver meowed, and the she-cat dipped her head like Ripple had. "She is very good at stalking in undergrowth and at night." Silver finally flicked his tail at the last she-cat. She was a very pretty tortoiseshell with extremely light blue eyes.

"And this is Sun. She is capable of running very fast and can catch most rabbits on the moors." Furzestar's eyes narrowed as she watched the four companions. She stepped forward and drew her leggy body up, trying to tower over Silver.

"Well, you three sure sound just like the four Clans that once resided here. Ripple would fit among RiverClan, Dawn, ShadowClan, and Sun, WindClan. How about you, Silver? Would you be a ThunderClan cat?" Furzestar sounded angry, but her voice was quiet, never rising above normal tones.

Silver blinked calmly at Furzestar, his tail flicking slowly back and forth. He seemed more amused then frightened, and Flypaw couldn't help but admire his calmness in the face of an angry warrior.

"If you do not wish us to stay, Furzestar, we will leave. We mean you no harm. StarClan has sent us here for a reason. If you do not believe us, again, we will leave." Furzestar hesitated. Flypaw stared at her, trying to make her understand that she needed to accept these cats into the Clan. But to his dismay, she shook her head slowly and backed away.

"No. I don't believe you. StarClan hasn't spoken to us for moons. Leave now, and don't return." Silver nodded solemnly and turned to leave. Furzestar addressed the Clan as he did so.

"RiverClan! If anyone sees these cats around, attack without hesitation. They are the enemy." RiverClan yowled in agreement, hissing insults as the four cats trudged away. Flypaw's eyes widened in shock.

"No!" He screeched, and Furzestar whipped around, a snarl on her face. "These cats must stay! They are vital to our survival!" Furzestar was unforgiving. She lunged forward and batted him across the face with a sheathed paw.

"Silence, apprentice! You need to learn to hold your tongue. You _do not_ decide what happens in this Clan. This is _my_ Clan, and I will make my own decisions!" Flypaw's eyes filled with hurt at her words, and he spun around and dashed into the apprentice's den. Finchtalon gave his leader a reproachful look and followed, his black tail disappearing into the den.

Furzestar stared at her paws, wondering if she had made the right decision. Hailstorm came up and nudged her gently with his muzzle. She blinked up at him, her eyes hollow.

"Did I make the right decision, Hailstorm? Or am I sentencing RiverClan to their deaths?" Hailstorm looked at his paws and found that he couldn't answer her honestly.

"I don't know, Furzestar. I don't know."

**Hmmm... who are these mysterious cats? Are they here to save the Clans? Or are they here to destroy them? And why does Furzestar refuse to trust them? Does she have a secret? So many questions to ponder... enjoy! : D**


	4. C h a p t e r 3 : Competition

**So... nobody reviewed. Well, I'll keep it going anyway, and hope that someone reviews. This chapter is from Flypaw's POV, well... mostly. Sometimes its iffy if it is from his POV. Anyway. I hope that you like this chapter. If you're reading. Am I talking to nobody? Wow, I must be going crazy then. O.o**

**Enjoy. I guess. If there is anyone there.  
**

Flypaw was silent as he padded next to Finchtalon a few sunrises later. His tail drooped and his eyes stayed on the ground the entire journey. Finchtalon tried to make a few light jokes, but nothing seemed to bring the apprentice out of his terrible sadness. Finally, the black and yellow tom shoved his apprentice towards a bramble bush – hard.

His black apprentice fell sideways into the bush and began to yowl in pain as the brambles stabbed through his thick fur. Flypaw scrambled out of the bush and spat angrily at his mentor.

"_What_ was that for?" He snarled, his tail lashing back and forth in fury. Finchtalon shrugged and sat down, his tail curling around his paws. Flypaw's anger boiled over at the nonchalance of his mentor. With a furious hiss, he threw himself, claws unsheathed, at Finchtalon.

The black and yellow warrior whipped aside with the quickness of a WindClan warrior, a grin on his face. Flypaw thought it was a smirk and snarled his anger plainly to his mentor. Finchtalon waited for an attack, knowing that it was coming soon.

The black apprentice launched himself at Finchtalon's paws. The bigger tom reared up to crush Flypaw with his greater size, but was surprised when the black tom flipped over and batted at Finchtalon's belly with his paws. Finchtalon closed his eyes, ready for the pain that was to come, but was surprised when none came.

He opened his eyes and saw the grin on his apprentice's face. Flypaw scooted out from under his mentor and sat back. He licked a paw and drew it over one ear before speaking.

"I figured out what you were doing about halfway through." His eyes glinted mischievously, and Finchtalon shook his head.

"I thought I was going to have to explain to Furzestar where my wounds had come from! That would have been embarrassing." He meowed, grinning at Flypaw. Flypaw's eyes stretched wide.

"Embarrassing! You should be suicidal if you're hurt by your own apprentice." The black apprentice retorted with a playful hiss. Finchtalon shook his head and turned down the path.

"Alright, you lead the way if you think you're so clever." Flypaw switched his tail in his mentor's face as he stalked past, but stopped and looked over his shoulder before padding away.

"Thanks, Finchtalon."

"So where are we going?" Flypaw asked Finchtalon. His paws were exhausted from all the walking and he wished they could just turn back and go home. Finchtalon glanced at his apprentice but didn't answer. Instead, he pressed on faster, with a sense of greater urgency. Flypaw sighed loudly, and Finchtalon finally answered.

"We're almost there. I'll tell you everything when we arrive." Flypaw decided that was a good enough answer and hurried after his mentor, relieved to almost be there.

They skirted around the lake until they arrived at a very old tree that had fallen across the lake. It just reached a small island that sat in the very center of the vast expanse of water. Flypaw tipped his head to one side and wondered if they were going to cross. Sure enough, Finchtalon hopped on top of it and blinked down at his apprentice.

"Well, come on. This is it." Flypaw looked at the tree nervously, but crouched down and sprang, landing lightly next to his mentor.

The tree bark felt slippery beneath his paws, so he unsheathed his claws and dug them in for a better grip. Finchtalon did the same and made his way slowly across the tree, glancing back every so often to make sure that Flypaw was still on.

When they reached the other side, Finchtalon leapt down gracefully and waited for Flypaw. The black apprentice had a hard time getting his claws out, and slithered very ungracefully down from the tree. He fell on his rump with a slight _oof_ of surprise before scrambling to his paws, his pelt hot with embarrassment.

Finchtalon blinked once at his apprentice, and then turned away. He took off across the Island, waving with his tail to signal Flypaw should follow. After a moment of hesitation, Flypaw followed his mentor, glancing warily around himself.

The Island was overgrown with weeds and Flypaw could see many tall trees towering above. A dense wall of brush loomed ahead, and Flypaw watched as Finchtalon shoved his way through a small gap and disappeared. Feeling worried, the black apprentice bounded after his mentor.

Just as he was about to push his way through the brush, Finchtalon's head poked through. He nodded wordlessly as he saw what Flypaw was going to do, and stepped back so that the black apprentice could push his way through. Flypaw flattened his ears against his head and pressed his tail to the ground to make himself smaller, then tried to squeeze through.

He made it to his shoulders and stuck. Finchtalon moved to help, but Flypaw shook his head determinedly and pulled his body through with one final jerk. Finchtalon smirked at the brambles stuck in Flypaw's white chest fur. The black apprentice hissed in annoyance, but Finchtalon was already gone.

Flypaw blinked and raced after his mentor, disturbed by the eerie silence between them. He looked around himself as they came into a clearing. There was a giant tree in the middle surrounded by many smaller trees. The giant tree had low hanging branches that looked as if they could easily be perches for cats.

Sure enough, as Flypaw approached, he could see ancient claw marks on the trees, suggesting that cats had sat there once. A shiver ran down his spine as he tipped back his head and looked up at the tree in awe. Who had been here?

"This was the meeting place for the four Clans." Finchtalon's voice broke the silence and startled Flypaw. The black apprentice whipped his head around in surprise. Finchtalon was sitting right there, looking wistfully up at the old tree.

"I wish I could have attended a Gathering." His mew was bitter, and Flypaw flinched at each angry syllable. "I have heard they were amazing. The four great leaders sat here at one point. And now… now there is no hope. Furzestar sent away our only hope. RiverClan will be the sole Clan now. Forever."

Flypaw was silent. There was nothing more to add, as he felt the same way as his mentor. The black apprentice and his black and yellow mentor stared at the tree silently, wrapped up in their own thoughts and troubles. They stood there until the sky darkened to midnight blue. Then mentor stood without word and apprentice followed in suit.

They traveled back to camp in a comfortable silence, each feeling as if a slight burden had been lifted off of their shoulders.

. . .

The next morning, Flypaw awoke as the sun was just getting to the highest point in the sky. He felt a bolt of shock go through him. Finchtalon never let him sleep in!

The black apprentice darted out of his den and into camp. He was shocked to see most of the warriors in camp just lounging around. Flypaw tipped his head to one side and stared at the strange sight. Camp was almost never like this. There were always patrols out.

Flypaw padded up to Sunnyheart and Pouncefoot, who were sharing tongues in the sun. Sunnyheart, a pretty ginger and white she-cat, looked up at smiled warmly at him.

"Good morning, Flypaw. Did you sleep well?" Flypaw nodded politely and turned to Pouncefoot. The ginger tom's dark blue eyes bore into Flypaw.

"Yes, son?" He asked, the tip of his tail twitching impatiently. Flypaw twitched an ear, wishing that he looked like his father so that Pouncefoot would be proud of him.

"I was curious as to why everyone was just relaxing today." he meowed, scuffling his paws underneath himself. Pouncefoot's eyes narrowed momentarily then returned to normal.

"Furzestar is holding a competition between the Clan. We are going to have hunting, fighting, and swimming games." Flypaw's eyes looked quizzical, so Pouncefoot continued. "She _says_ its because it will be a fun thing to do, but we all know its because she wants to see how prepared we are for battle. She doesn't trust those four loners."

Flypaw nodded silently, pondering that statement. He agreed that Furzestar had been very on edge since Silver, Ripple, Dawn, and Sun had come. The black apprentice turned to leave, then looked over his shoulder at his father.

"Is mother in the nursery with Willowkit?" He asked quietly. Pouncefoot nodded silently, and Flypaw blinked his thanks, then padded away.

His paws carried him towards the nursery. Just as he was about to enter, however, a tall ginger tom with strangely shaped darker patches of fur stopped him. Flypaw flattened his ears in fear and anger.

"Fallenleaves." he said flatly. The ginger mate of Honeyfur flicked his tail back and forth slowly.

"Coming to visit your… _sister?_" Fallenleaves sneered, lifting his chin in arrogance. Flypaw spat angrily and switched his tail back and forth.

"What do you care?" he snarled, shoving past the young warrior. Fallenleaves snorted as Flypaw pushed into the nursery, glad he had annoyed the apprentice.

Flypaw shook his head. _How can that cat be a father? _He wondered. But all thoughts of the arrogant warrior vanished when he saw his sweet mother and his little sister lying amongst a bed of soft moss. His gaze softened as he sat down next to his mother and gave her and his sister each a gentle lick on the head. His dark gray mother blinked sleepily and smiled at her son.

"Hello there, Flypaw. Come to see Willowkit?" Flypaw nodded happily.

"Of course, Lakefur!" He leaned forward to gently prod his sister with a forepaw. She squeaked and shifted, her closed eyes staring Flypaw in the face. Flypaw smiled, his mind going back to the day she was born not that long ago…

_"Bumbletail, come quick!" Pouncefoot's frightened voice rose above the din of cats in camp. Flypaw's head shot up in alarm. He had just been made an apprentice earlier that day. Pouncefoot's urgent voice had him sprinting towards the nursery, where he knew his mother was heavily pregnant with her second litter of kits._

_ Bumbletail hurried into the nursery, a bundle of herbs in her jaws. Flypaw attempted to get around her to see his mother, but she shoved him away._

_ "Stay back, Flykit!" She hissed. "This is not for kits to see." Flypaw narrowed his eyes in annoyance._

_ "It's Fly_paw_!" He snarled, his tail switching back and forth. "And she's my mother!" Bumbletail was about to shout back, but a wail from Lakefur caught her attention. Flypaw fought to comfort his mother, but Pouncefoot was suddenly there, shouldering his older son away._

_ "No, Flypaw. Leave. I will come and get you when they are born." Flypaw opened his mouth to argue, but shut it when he received a very stern glare from his father. He nodded silently and padded out of the den, his tail drooping._

_ The sun was almost gone when Pouncefoot finally came out of the den, looking weary. Bumbletail was close behind, her eyes downcast and sad. Flypaw hurried up to his father, his eyes frightened._

_ "What is it? What happened?" Pouncefoot sighed wearily and touched his son gently on the head with his nose._

_ "Only one survived. There were five." He said quietly. Flypaw let out a quiet wail of distress, and Pouncefoot closed his eyes, as if the noise gave him pain. "She is very weak, and we think she may be deaf and blind on her right side."_

_ Flypaw drooped his head and tail, wishing it wasn't so. Pouncefoot rested his tail on his son's shoulders._

_ "At least she's alive, Flypaw. At least we have her."_

Flypaw's mind traveled back to the present. He gave his tiny gray tabby sister a gentle lick on the head. Then he pressed his muzzle to Lakefur's briefly before turning and whisking out of the den.

Just as he stepped out of the den, he heard Furzestar's familiar yowl, summoning the Clan for a meeting. Flypaw turned his paws in the direction of ReedPile and sat down next to Fallowpaw, one of the other apprentices. The ginger tom, with his blue eyes and white paw, looked more like Pouncefoot than Flypaw did. It made the black apprentice jealous. He turned his attention away from Fallowpaw as Furzestar began to speak.

"As many of you have heard, we are going to hold a friendly competition between the warriors and apprentices. There will be hunting, fighting, and swimming competitions to take part in. Everyone is allowed to sign up for one, two, or all three. But everyone must participate."

There was a quiet murmuring amongst the cats as they discussed this idea. Furzestar allowed them to talk for a moment before she spoke again.

"Input?" she asked, her yellow eyes curious. That was one thing Flypaw liked about Furzestar. She always asked her warriors what they thought about her plans before going through with them.

_At least ninety percent of the time,_ Flypaw thought, remembering her rash decision with the four loners. He listened as the Clan debated around him. Most agreed with her plan, but some didn't like it.

"What's the point?" Fallenleaves said boldly, puffing out his chest. Flypaw narrowed his eyes at the arrogant young warrior, hoping he would get paired with him for the fighting portion.

"I believe Furzestar just wants to see how well the Clan is doing. She cares about us, Fallenleaves. Besides, it'll be fun!" It was Braveheart who spoke up. Flypaw was surprised to hear such wise words from such a young tom, but he found himself agreeing with his former denmate. Furzestar smiled proudly at Braveheart.

"Yes, Braveheart has a point. The games will be held in two sunrises time, so mentors, ready your apprentices, and warriors, refresh those battle moves! Hailstorm and I will do the pairings tomorrow." Furzestar hopped off of ReedPile, signaling that the meeting was over.

Flypaw turned to Fallowpaw and saw his own excitement mirrored in the other apprentice's eyes.

"This is going to be so much fun!" The ginger apprentice meowed, his eyes gleaming. Flypaw nodded in agreement and headed over to see Finchtalon. The black and yellow tom grinned at his apprentice.

"Ready to practice some battle moves?" he asked. Flypaw nodded eagerly and Finchtalon purred in amusement.

"Alright, meet me at the training hollow just after sunrise tomorrow. Don't be late!" He cautioned, sending Flypaw off with a gentle cuff to his ears.

Flypaw darted off to the nursery to tell his mother and sister about the competition. It was sure going to be a day to remember!

**Okay, okay. I know. I know I took the little competition idea from one of the books. But whatever. It's part of the plot, I promise. Something will happen there. You'll see. Just wait. R&R. If you want. If you're there.**


	5. C h a p t e r 4 : Kidnapped

**Well thanks to my one reviewer! Starfirebeam, you are my new best friend! And yes, Flypaw does get paired up with Fallenleaves... so they do get to fight! There is more plot in this chapter... I guess. I think it's actually longer than my other ones! I'm excited, because the other have been so darn short, which annoys me.**

The day of the competition was gloomy. The clouds that hung over RiverClan camp looked as if they were about to burst from the rain they held in their bellies. They were swollen and Flypaw flattened his ears as he looked at them, shivering at the thought of rain. Although he loved swimming and water, rain was strangely something he couldn't stand. It felt weird on his pelt, thick, separate drops instead of the smooth, steady flow of the river.

Finchtalon stood next to his apprentice, gazing up at the clouds.

"Doesn't look like a nice day, huh?" he murmured, blinking his amber eyes at Flypaw. The black and white tom turned to his mentor and twitched his ears once.

"No," He said quietly, turning his gaze to Driftpaw as he padded up. The dark gray tom flicked his tail across Flypaw's nose.

"Did you find out who you're paired up with for each competition?" Driftpaw asked, grinning at his brother. Flypaw's eyes gleamed with jealousy.

"No! Did you?" Driftpaw nodded, and Flypaw let out a playfully angry hiss. "Who are you with?" Flypaw asked, eager to know. Driftpaw twitched his tail, licked a paw, and drew it over one ear. Stalling. Flypaw's ears twitched. His brother always liked to annoy him. Finally, the dark gray tabby tom answered.

"For hunting, I'm up against Fallowpaw, Daisypaw, and Fallenleaves." Flypaw nodded. _No Fallenleaves for hunting… I can still hope I will be for fighting._ He thought, turning his attention back to Driftpaw as he continued.

"For fighting, I'm against Finchtalon first." He glanced at Flypaw's mentor as he said this, and the yellow and black tom acknowledged it with a dip of his head.

"Good luck," Finchtalon and Flypaw said in unison. Flypaw grinned at his mentor, before returning his attention once again to his brother.

"And for swimming I'm in a race with Sunnyheart, Duskclaw, and _you!_" Flypaw's eyes widened, and he felt his heart sink. Driftpaw was known for being one of the best swimmers in the Clan, and both Sunnyheart and Duskclaw had a lot more practice than he did.

"Hey," Driftpaw said, nudging his brother as he saw the look on his face. "Don't worry, I'll sabotage the other two so you can get second." Flypaw grinned and nudged his brother back.

"Thanks, Driftpaw, but I think I'll be okay." Finchtalon nosed in, his amber eyes full of warning.

"You'd better be joking, Driftpaw. Hailstorm and Furzestar wouldn't take lightly to cheating." The dark gray apprentice dipped his head and grinned sheepishly at his brother's mentor.

"Don't worry, I was joking." He meowed. Just then, Sunnyheart padded up. The pretty ginger and white she-cat poked Driftpaw with a forepaw.

"Time to get ready, Driftpaw. Furzestar is calling everyone to come to the entrance for the competition." her voice was soft and lilting, and Flypaw found himself staring as she spoke. He snapped out of it when Driftpaw stood up and nodded.

"Let's go then." He meowed, following his mentor across the clearing. Flypaw watched Sunnyheart go and then turned to Finchtalon. The yellow and black tom was watching his apprentice with a knowing look on his face.

"What?" Flypaw snapped, his tail twitching irritably.

"Oh, nothing," Finchtalon said breezily. He stood up and padded away. Flypaw followed, a grumpy look on his face.

As they approached the others, Flypaw could see everyone looking very anxious and excited. There was Daisypaw with her new mentor, Emberblaze, and Fallowpaw with the arrogant Fallenleaves. Cloverpatch had a bundle of herbs in her mouth, and she looked extremely nervous. Pouncefoot caught Flypaw's eye and smirked slightly. The black apprentice smirked back and waited for Furzestar to lead them on. The leopard spotted she-cat opened her mouth to make a speech before they went.

"I have invited Graymist and her kits to join us, as they will be made apprentices soon. They are allowed to watch, but not participate." She looked pointedly at the two kits, who nodded solemnly to their leader, but Flypaw could see the mischief in their eyes. Hailstorm stood and turned away from the group. He started to walk, and Furzestar followed. Flypaw padded after the Clan as they padded away, feeling the excitement growing in his belly.

. . .

They arrived at a small clearing next to the river. Furzestar hopped onto a small boulder and faced her Clan. She felt a slight tremor of excitement at the thought of what they were going to do. First up would be the hunting competition. The leopard spotted she-cat raised her head and called out;

"First up is the hunting competition. We will have three heats – the top two of each group will go onto a semi-final. Those six with compete, and then the top three will compete for first, second, and third place. The first heat is composed of Driftpaw, Fallowpaw, Daisypaw, and Fallenleaves!"

The four cats rose to their paws. Flypaw noted that while Driftpaw and Fallenleaves looked very confident, Daisypaw looked terrified and Fallowpaw looked a little unsure. They all lined up next to the river, waiting for instructions. Furzestar began.

"The two that catch the most fish at the end of one hundred eighty heartbeats **(AN/ three minutes)** will be declared the winners! Now… on your marks, get set, go!"

Flypaw's gaze flipped to the four cats as they began to fish. It was obvious from the get-go that Fallowpaw was not the best fisher. When Daisypaw and Driftpaw had about three each, he had just gotten his first. Fallenleaves was just behind the other two apprentices with his second fish. Daisypaw began to pull ahead soon, with six fish compared to Driftpaw and Fallenleaves' four.

Just as Furzestar was about to call for the end of the competition, Fallenleaves caught one more fish to pull ahead of Driftpaw. Furzestar called time and Hailstorm padded over to assess the amount of fish each had.

Sure enough, Daisypaw won with seven fish, Fallenleaves came in second with five, Driftpaw in a close third with four fish, and Fallowpaw dead last with two fish. Flypaw congratulated Daisypaw and she thanked him shyly. He gave his brother an apologetic nudge on the shoulder, but Driftpaw was smiling.

"It's cool, I don't really like fishing anyway! I hope to win swimming." Flypaw grinned at his brother's always-optimistic attitude and waited for Furzestar to announce the next group.

"Next up are Braveheart, Duskclaw, and Flypaw!" Flypaw gulped as he heard his name called amongst the two bigger and more experienced toms. But he took his place next to them and waited for Furzestar to tell them to start. He heard her voice and gazed into the water, one paw poised to strike.

He was momentarily distracted when Duskclaw snatched his first fish, and Braveheart soon after. It seemed as if they were going at normal speed and he was going in slow motion. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a silvery flash – the telltale sign of a fish.

His paw was moving before he could even register what was happening – instinct took over. Flypaw watched as the fish arched through the air, landing on the sand next to him. It began to flop towards the water, but he quickly killed it with a bite before it could get away.

After that, it all seemed to go too fast. When Furzestar called time, he glanced down at the pile of fish next to him. He had five fish, same as Fallenleaves. Flypaw didn't dare look at what Duskclaw and Braveheart had. Hailstorm came over and announced the scores.

"Flypaw has five, Duskclaw has six, and Braveheart has –" Flypaw's heart stopped and the blood pounded in his ears as he waited to hear what Braveheart had. "Five." Flypaw's eyes narrowed. What were they going to do now?

"In the event of a tie, we must have a lightning round. Flypaw and Braveheart will go against each other for only sixty seconds, and whoever has the most at the end will move forward." Flypaw swallowed hard, wishing he were a better fisher. His former denmate nodded and wished him good-luck. Flypaw returned it.

"Go!" Furzestar's voice was loud in his ears, but after that, he heard nothing. He was in the zone again.

Flypaw scooped up fish like his life depended on it, and was surprised to find four fish next to him at the end of sixty seconds. Not wanting to wait for Hailstorm this time, he glanced at Braveheart's pile and felt a surge of victory. Braveheart had three fish. He had done it!

Flypaw accepted his brother's and mentor's congratulations with a dip of his head, and he couldn't stop the grin that formed on his face. Furzestar announced the last group to go – Finchtalon, Emberblaze, Pouncefoot, and Sunnyheart.

Flypaw only watched Finchtalon and was proud to see his mentor had five fish at the end of the allotted time. Emberblaze had six, Pouncefoot had four, and Sunnyheart had seven, which meant that her and Emberblaze went on, and not Finchtalon. Flypaw nudged his mentor and voiced his complaints that Emberblaze cheated (under his breath, of course) in a playful manner. His mentor smiled and nodded his thanks.

Then it was time for the semi-finals. The six winners – Daisypaw, Fallenleaves, Duskclaw, Flypaw, Sunnyheart, and Emberblaze lined up for another round. Flypaw got ready, hoping desperately that he would beat Fallenleaves.

The round went by in a blur, and Flypaw found himself with six fish next to himself when the time was up. The giant white and black speckled deputy padded up to count the fish.

"Daisypaw, seven. Duskclaw, five. Flypaw, six. Sunnyheart, seven. Emberblaze, five. And Fallenleaves –" Flypaw closed his eyes and prayed to StarClan that he had beat the arrogant warrior. "Seven." The black and white apprentice's heart sank, and his tail drooped in shame. Fallenleaves laughed at Flypaw as he padded past.

"Loser," he snarled, and the words stung. Flypaw dragged his paws as he padded over to Finchtalon and Driftpaw. His brother nudged him and murmured that Fallenleaves was a stupid mouse-brain who should go drown himself (that got him a stern look from Pouncefoot) but Finchtalon was strangely silent. When he spoke, it was to reprimand, not congratulate.

"You should be glad for your Clanmates, not mean." He meowed sternly, and Flypaw nodded apologetically, but he sure didn't feel apologetic inside.

"I know."

The final round between Daisypaw, Fallenleaves, and Sunnyheart began as the sun hit its peak. Flypaw cheered silently for Daisypaw and Sunnyheart as soon as Furzestar announced the start. At the end of the competition, Flypaw waited anxiously to see who won. He couldn't tell from where he was how many each cat had. Hailstorm announced again.

"In third place we have – Sunnyheart with six fish!" The Clan cheered, and Flypaw shook his head in disappointment. Well, he would just have to hope that Daisypaw won still. "And tied for first place is Daisypaw and Fallenleaves with eight fish each!" Flypaw blinked in surprise. Tied?

He congratulated Daisypaw warmly, giving her a hearty nudge that nearly knocked her off of her paws. Then, with a little prodding from Finchtalon, he gave Fallenleaves a grumpy congratulation. The warrior nodded his thanks, but his eyes were narrowed menacingly.

Furzestar hopped on top of the boulder again when she was done giving her own congratulations. She waved her tail for silence, and then spoke.

"Since that competition took a lot longer than I'd anticipated, I've decided to break this into two days. We'll do the fighting today, and the swimming tomorrow, but later in the day, so we can rest from today's events." The Clan murmured their agreement, and Flypaw's eyes flashed in excitement. _Fighting next! I'm going to murder Fallenleaves._ He thought, eyes narrowed. Furzestar announced the first pair.

"First up we have… Braveheart and Sunnyheart!" The leopard spotted leader meowed. The two cats stepped up, both looking a little nervous. Furzestar spoke again, this time laying down the rules.

"The biggest rule is that claws _must_ be sheathed. You are not allowed to throw your opponent into anything or in any way actually harm them. Treat this like battle training. I will decide the winner at the end either by a pin or by who had the best moves. We will have six rounds. The winner of each will go against another winner, and so on until we only have two left." Furzestar opened her mouth again to call for them to start, but she stopped when Duskclaw spoke up.

"But there are only eleven warriors and apprentices, Furzestar. How are we going to have six rounds?" He asked, his tabby striped tail flicking. Furzestar smiled down at the warrior.

"Good question. Hailstorm is going to participate." She meowed. The burly black-flecked tom gazed at the Clan with his dark blue eyes, and Flypaw tried to suppress a shiver. He sure didn't want to be paired up with the deputy. The black apprentice was so wrapped up in his thoughts that he was shocked to hear the hisses of Braveheart and Sunnyheart. Furzestar must have told them they could start.

It was obvious that Braveheart had the upper hand with size, but Sunnyheart was much quicker. Flypaw's tail twitched in excitement as he watched the battle, wishing he could join in. After a while, Braveheart pinned Sunnyheart underneath him, and she fell limp. Furzestar yowled to end the fight, and both cats stood up.

"Nice fight, Braveheart." Sunnyheart meowed, flicking the younger warrior with her tail. The dark gray tom dipped his head and smiled.

"Thanks, Sunnyheart. You too." Flypaw felt a prickle of jealousy at their closeness but shoved it away as Furzestar spoke again.

"Next up – Driftpaw and Finchtalon!" Flypaw's ears pricked up as he watched his brother face up to his mentor. They began fiercely as Furzestar signaled the start, but Flypaw found himself zoning out.

The next battles went quick. Finchtalon won against Driftpaw, which still didn't dampen his brother's optimistic spirit. Pouncefoot beat Duskclaw next, in an easy battle. Flypaw felt admiration at his father's talent. Next were Emberblaze and Fallowpaw. Fallowpaw fought valiantly, but Emberblaze pinned him in the end.

There were two rounds left, which meant four cats left – Fallenleaves, Flypaw, Hailstorm, and Daisypaw. Flypaw waited anxiously as Furzestar announced the next pair.

"And now we have Hailstorm up against…" Flypaw closed his eyes and prayed to StarClan. _Not me, not me, not me!_ "Flypaw." The black apprentice's heart sank. Standing on shaky paws, he took his place in front of the huge white deputy. Furzestar yowled, and the fight began.

The burly white tom crouched down and sprang quicker than Flypaw could react. He hardly had time to defend, so he got the full force of the deputy's attack. He skidded across the sandy ground and felt Hailstorm's hot breath on his face. Flypaw's eyes widened, and suddenly all of Finchtalon's training came roaring back. With an angry hiss, he pressed his back paws into Hailstorm's stomach and pushed hard. The deputy coughed as the breath was knocked out of him. Flypaw grinned. This was his chance.

Quickly, he shoved the deputy's dead weight off of his smaller body and began to pummel him with sheathed paws. He kept doing so until he had the chance to leap onto Hailstorm's back. The white deputy had gotten his breath back by then, however. Hailstorm rolled, trapping Flypaw underneath his bulk. Flypaw grunted under the deputy's weight, wishing he hadn't fallen for this again. _Maybe…_ He had seen the move only a few times before.

The black apprentice fell limp, like he was giving up. Hailstorm grinned triumphantly and backed off. Just as Furzestar was about to yowl the end of the battle, Flypaw lunged forward and shoved Hailstorm off of his paws. Taken by surprise, the white and black-flecked deputy fell onto his back, Flypaw on top of him. The black apprentice held a paw at his deputy's throat and grinned. Hailstorm fell limp and Furzestar yowled to signal the end.

"Flypaw wins!" Flypaw got off of Hailstorm and puffed out his chest. The deputy got to his paws and shook his pelt free of the sand.

"Nice moves, young one," he rumbled, padding off to sit with Furzestar again. Flypaw headed back to the others with a grin on his face, amazed that he had won. The Clan surrounded him and gave their congratulations. Then Furzestar announced the final pair. Daisypaw and Fallenleaves. Flypaw couldn't help feeling sorry for the pretty young apprentice.

Sure enough, Fallenleaves sorely beat Daisypaw. The next round was on. First up was Braveheart against Finchtalon. As soon as the fight began, it was obvious that they were very evenly matched. When Furzestar yowled for the end of the fight, there was no clear winner. Flypaw waited to see if his mentor had won.

"And the winner is… Finchtalon!" Flypaw's ears pricked up in excitement. Yes! His mentor had won. _But that might mean you're against him later…_ Flypaw realized. _Oh well. You'll just have to show him that you're tougher than him._ He then waited anxiously to see if he was against Fallenleaves.

"The next battle is between Pouncefoot and Emberblaze!" Furzestar announced, and the two got ready to fight. _Yes! _Flypaw thought triumphantly. He was going to win. He _had_ to win. Emberblaze surprisingly defeated Pouncefoot. It was then time for Flypaw to go up against his rival. The black apprentice faced Fallenleaves, noting that his opponent was larger and more muscular. _Although that helped Braveheart, I'm going to make sure that it doesn't help Fallenleaves._ He thought determinedly. Furzestar yowled, and they began.

Fallenleaves' mouth was curled into a menacing smirk as he glared Flypaw down. The bigger tom stalked in a circle around Flypaw before deciding where to strike. Flypaw watched as Fallenleaves flew at him, his paws outstretched. Quickly, Flypaw ducked the attack and rolled onto his back, giving the ginger warrior a gentle shove with his hind paws as he flew overhead. Fallenleaves crashed to the ground but was up in an instant, spitting sand out of his mouth.

"You're going to have to do better than that, shrimp!" Fallenleaves taunted under his breath. Flypaw hissed in annoyance and darted forward. His paws connected with Fallenleaves' muzzle, sending the bigger cat reeling backwards. The annoyed hiss now came from Fallenleaves. The ginger warrior leapt forward with a snarl and planted his paws in Flypaw's side. Flypaw felt his body slam to the ground as the paws made contact, and he knew that he was in trouble.

Fallenleaves' larger size gave him the advantage here, and unlike when Flypaw had fought Hailstorm, Flypaw wasn't on his back, which made it almost impossible to get up. But Flypaw was determined to not let the arrogant warrior win. He knew that the "play dead" trick wouldn't work again, so he would have to try something else. Flypaw twisted his head around and gave the young warrior a gentle nip on the paw. Fallenleaves automatically released with a startled hiss.

This was his chance. Flypaw gathered his paws underneath himself and surged upwards, his body connecting solidly with Fallenleaves' chest. The ginger tom flew onto his back and Flypaw quickly made sure that he was out of reach of Fallenleaves' flailing paws. Furzestar yowled for the end and Flypaw stood triumphantly. Fallenleaves got to his paws and shook the sand from his pelt.

"Flypaw cheated!" Those were the first words out of the ginger warrior's mouth. Flypaw opened his mouth to retaliate, but Furzestar gave him a sharp look.

"I'll admit that I said no physical harm. However, Flypaw did not actually harm you, Fallenleaves. Besides, there was no other way to get you off of him. I would have chosen him to win anyway. He used much better moves than you did, Fallenleaves."

Flypaw stared at his leader in disbelief. He won? He had better moves than Fallenleaves? Awesome! The ginger warrior didn't look so thrilled, however. He stalked past Flypaw, hissing curse words under his breath. Flypaw headed back to the Clan to accept the congratulations. Furzestar waited a moment before speaking again.

"For the last round, each cat will fight each other. I will decide from the three which one should be eliminated. The final two will fight again for a win. First up we will have Finchtalon and Emberblaze."

Flypaw watched the battle with interest, trying to see what each warrior had in strengths. Emberblaze was quick and had some very intricate moves that Flypaw knew would confuse him. Finchtalon was larger and slower, but he seemed to always be ready for the attacks. In the end, Finchtalon came out on top. Flypaw was now up against Finchtalon.

He faced his mentor with a wildly beating heart. When Furzestar signaled the start, he found himself not ready. The battle went quickly, and Flypaw unfortunately found himself on the bottom at the end of the fight. Finchtalon was victorious again. Flypaw was allowed to catch his breath before fighting Emberblaze.

The dusky gray she-cat was quick. She moved so quickly that Flypaw wasn't sure what to do at times, but he managed to get a few good hits on her and to pin her underneath him in the end. Furzestar announced him as the winner. Since Emberblaze had lost both of her battles, Flypaw and Finchtalon moved on to the final round. Flypaw faced his mentor again, knowing that he had to do well this time.

Finchtalon's amber eyes bore into his apprentice's blue ones as he waited for an attack. Flypaw crouched down and stared obviously at Finchtalon's shoulders. He then leapt, aiming for the shoulders, but twitched in midair like he was going for his mentor's throat. Finchtalon moved quickly to defend that blow, but Flypaw then continued for Finchtalon's shoulders.

He grasped on with his paws, wishing he could sink his claws in for a better hold. When Finchtalon moved to roll, like Hailstorm had done, Flypaw was ready. He leapt of quickly and landed on all four paws in the sand. While Finchtalon was on his back, Flypaw jumped onto his stomach and held a paw at his mentor's throat. Finchtalon squirmed underneath his apprentice, but Flypaw held fast, determined. Furzestar yowled for the fight to end.

"Flypaw is the winner!" She announced, and the black apprentice stood straighter, disbelieving but also proud. Finchtalon got up and nudged his apprentice heartily.

"Nice job, Flypaw. I've taught you well." Flypaw bounded back to accept the praise from his family, feeling better than he had in a long time. Furzestar yowled for silence momentarily, and the Clan waited for her to speak.

"The swimming competition will take place at sunrise tomorrow, same place. Rest for the rest of the day unless you are going to practice your s –" A loud yowl interrupted Furzestar and startled the entire Clan. Everyone was on their paws in an instant, fur bristling.

The four loners from before came streaking up to them. They hopped onto a boulder near Furzestar and stared down at RiverClan. Furzestar's yellow eyes blazed as she glared at them.

"What are you doing back here again?" She spat. "This is RiverClan territory. Get out." But the four loners took no notice of her brave challenge. Instead, Silver stepped forward and addressed the Clan.

"Which one of you is Flypaw? He should be a black apprentice with a white patch that starts at his nose and goes underneath his belly. He is also the one that has been receiving dreams about us." Flypaw took a few shaky steps forward, raised his head, and spoke.

"I am Flypaw." Driftpaw stepped forward and stood next to his brother.

"What do you want with him?" He asked, his voice desperate and frightened. Silver's cold eyes bore into Driftpaw's.

"That is none of your concern, kit," he snarled. With that statement, he leapt down from the boulder and ran straight to Flypaw. RiverClan parted for him, their eyes afraid. Sun, Ripple, and Dawn waited patiently as Silver sunk his teeth into Flypaw's scruff and turned, carrying him back to his three companions. Furzestar stared in shock, but seemed rooted to her spot. Sun spoke, her strange blue eyes gleaming.

"Maybe this will teach you to listen to us." She snarled, and then turned and led the other three back in the direction they came. As soon as the four loners (and Flypaw) were out of sight, RiverClan seemed to snap out of its trance. Furzestar addressed the Clan, her voice shaking.

"Something strange has happened today. Right now, I'm not sure what we are going to do. But the swimming is canceled for tomorrow. Instead, we are going to find Flypaw."

. . .

A shocked Driftpaw lay curled in his nest that night, wondering what had just happened. Why had they taken his brother? What was so special about him?

_Aren't I good enough to take?_ He wondered, before drifting slowly off to sleep.

**Bleh ending, but whatever. I hope you liked that chapter! As you can see, these aren't normal loners. They put a strange trance on RiverClan that made them unable to move or comprehend what was happening to Flypaw. Pretty BA, aren't they? hehe. R&R please!**


	6. C h a p t e r 5 : Searching

**Well, here's the next chapter! It's still just Starfirebeam reviewing, but I don't mind! She's very kind. You'll find out more about the loners in this chapter, Star, don't worry! They'll give you the story of why they are here... :3 Enjoy!**

Flypaw's eyes flew open. _Where am I?_ He wondered as he scrambled to his paws. He didn't remember anything from that day, except that he had won the fighting competition and the four loners had come. Was he back in RiverClan camp?

Extremely confused, he looked around himself. He was in a small den, not unlike the one in RiverClan camp. But it smelled different. And he couldn't see the entrance from here. There was a tiny pinprick of light in the distance. He must be in a tunnel of some sort. After stretching his tense muscles, he began the trek to the entrance.

The path was dark and riddled with sharp objects that made his paws hurt. It took at least five minutes for him to reach the entrance. When he did, he was shocked to see that a stone blocked it. The bit of light that he had seen was the moon peeking in through a crack in the upper right hand corner. Flypaw shook his head in disbelief. What was this? Had Silver, Ripple, Sun, and Dawn trapped him here?

He supposed the best thing to do was to wait until morning. They had to feed him, didn't they? But as he curled up to go back to sleep, he felt a strange foreboding in his belly. What if they didn't feed him? What if they left him to starve in here forever? What if RiverClan never found him? What if, what if, what if? He fell into a fitful sleep with all of the "what-ifs" running through his head.

. . .

**(AN/ Switching to Finchtalon's POV since Flypaw is gone)**

Finchtalon woke early the next morning. _Time to get Flypaw up to go train!_ He thought, padding briskly out into camp. But when he poked his head into the apprentice's den to find his apprentice, reality came crashing back down – hard. Flypaw was gone. The yellow and black warrior sat down and closed his amber eyes, feeling stunned. How could he have forgotten?

The sound of movement close by startled him. Finchtalon's amber eyes snapped open and he found himself face to face with Lakefur, Flypaw's mother. He longed to close his eyes again, but he gave her a polite dip of his head instead. She smiled wanly and looked up at the sky.

"I found myself wishing it was someone else's kit last night. Then I realized that I wouldn't want anyone to ever feel this way… It's terrible, Finchtalon. Isn't it?" The yellow and black warrior nodded mutely, not knowing what to say. The pretty dark gray she-cat gave him a gentle nudge, got up, and started to pad away.

"Wait!" Finchtalon called, finding his voice. Lakefur looked over her shoulder, her dark blue eyes (exactly like Flypaw's, Finchtalon noted) curious. "Thanks." He murmured. She smiled warmly and nodded before heading back to the nursery.

"May all cats old enough to catch their own prey please gather here beneath ReedPile for a Clan meeting!" Furzestar's call echoed around camp. Finchtalon found himself the first one there. He waited patiently for the others to arrive so that Furzestar could begin.

"The kidnapping of Flypaw is a tragedy, and we must find him and kill those terrible rouges that took him. I am organizing a patrol that will find where they are keeping him. Today we are just tracking. We will attack tomorrow if we find the place. I will be taking Hailstorm, Braveheart, Sunnyheart, Duskclaw, Emberblaze, Fallowpaw, and Finchtalon. Pouncefoot is in charge while I am gone."

There was a murmur of agreement, and Finchtalon was glad to hear his name amongst the patrol. He wanted to find his apprentice just as much as the others. He was surprised that Pouncefoot wasn't allowed on the patrol, however. It was his son! Then again, he might be too quick to attack instead of watch.

Fallenleaves stood up angrily, his eyes blazing. Finchtalon tried not to roll his eyes. The arrogant young warrior always had some objection to Furzestar's plans. What could it be this time?

"Why am _I_ not allowed to go? My apprentice is going!" He hissed. Furzestar glared down at the warrior, her spotted tail flicking angrily.

"Do not question my motives, Fallenleaves. If you continue to object my orders, then you will be punished." The ginger warrior sat down grudgingly, his ears flat and his eyes blazing with annoyance. Furzestar shook her head slowly before speaking again.

"We have one more thing to do this morning," Finchtalon's head tipped to one side in confusion. What else could there be? Then he spotted Graymist on the edges of the Clan with her kits, Morningkit and Talonkit. _They must be having their apprentice ceremony_. Finchtalon thought. Sure enough, Furzestar began the familiar words.

"Two kits have now been with us for six moons, which means it is their time to become apprentices. Morningkit, Talonkit, step forward please." The two kits stepped forward, their eyes bright and eager. Furzestar smiled down at them before continuing. "Morningkit, from this day forward, until you earn your warrior name, you will be known as Morningpaw. I ask StarClan to watch over you until you find the strength and courage of a warrior." The little gray she-cat looked up at Furzestar with her huge amber eyes, waiting for her mentor anxiously.

"Pouncefoot, it has been a while since you had an apprentice. You had excellent training under Nightfall, and I hope that you will pass your knowledge on to Morningpaw." The little gray she-cat puffed out her chest and tried to look brave as she padded up to the huge ginger tom. They touched noses and Morningpaw sat back, waiting eagerly for her brother to get his name as well.

"Talonkit, from this day on, until you earn your warrior name, you will be known as Talonpaw. StarClan, please watch over this young cat until he learns the code and the ways of a warrior." The burly young tomcat, a near-copy of his father Hailstorm, looked around with pride, waiting for his mentor.

"Duskclaw, you trained Fallenleaves well. I expect that you will use those same skills to teach Talonpaw how to be the best warrior in RiverClan." The dark brown tabby tom dipped his head respectfully to Furzestar before touching his nose to his new apprentice. Finchtalon purred happily. It was great to see the Clan growing up. Then the mood turned serious as Furzestar spoke for the last time.

"Now, I would like to start heading out with the patrol. Those I mentioned should probably eat something now so they can keep their strength up on the way. We will stop at the river for a drink before heading out." Furzestar leapt off of ReedPile, signaling the end of the meeting. Finchtalon took her advice and headed to the fresh-kill pile, choosing a medium-sized fish to eat. He expected to eat alone, so he was surprised when Sunnyheart padded up with a fish in her jaws. She sat down next to him and began to eat. After a few moments of silence, she spoke.

"It must be hard to deal with Flypaw being gone," Finchtalon stiffened, thinking this was just another cat trying to give him sympathy. But she went on, surprising Finchtalon again. "Driftpaw is having a hard time too, which just makes me sad." She sighed heavily and sat back, staring off into the distance. Finchtalon gave her a gentle nudge on the shoulder.

"It'll be alright. We'll find him. We have to." Sunnyheart nodded and smiled gratefully. The two finished in silence, and headed to join the patrol together when Furzestar called for them to gather. Their leopard spotted leader looked around to make sure they were all there before turning and leading the way out of camp. Finchtalon fell into step beside Sunnyheart and sighed. It was going to be a long day.

. . .

Flypaw awoke at the sound of rock against rock. His blue eyes flew open and he quickly got to his paws, his fur bristling. There was a gentle murmur of voices and the sound of pawsteps on sand for a moment, and then silence. Flypaw looked around wildly, wondering where they were.

"Looking for someone?" A voice rumbled behind the nervous apprentice. With a startled gasp, he whipped around, trying to see in the dark. Although his vision was pretty good in the dark, he could still only barely make out the dark outline of Silver. He knew right away that it was silver because of the light gray mask that covered his eyes.

"What do you want with me?" Flypaw cried, his tail lashing back and forth in agitation. Silver's eyes gleamed angrily in the darkness, and Flypaw was shocked to realize that they were two different colors. One was a light blue, and the other was green. His eyes caught Flypaw off guard, and he almost forgot his anger. But it was back in a flash when Silver grabbed his scruff and began to carry him towards the entrance of the tunnel.

"I can walk by myself!" Flypaw spat, unsheathing his claws and flailing at the dark gray tom. He was satisfied when his claws connected with fur. Silver let out an annoyed hiss around the black apprentice's fur but continued walking. Flypaw growled and tried to squirm away again, but Silver held him fast.

They padded into the light, which made Flypaw squint. After his eyes finally adjusted to the sunlight, he looked around himself. Dawn, Ripple, and Sun were there, and they looked up as Silver carried him into the clearing. It was a small clearing surrounded by very tall trees. The ground looked strange, almost marshy. There were seven dens, including the one that they had just come from. On one side of the clearing was a branch that hung at just the right height for a cat to stand upon and speak to their Clan. A den below was obviously where the leader would stay. Flypaw realized suddenly that this used to be a Clan's camp! But which one?

He was brought out of his thoughts when Silver plopped him onto the ground. The black apprentice tumbled into the needle-covered ground with an _oof_. He looked up at Silver reproachfully as he pulled himself to his paws. The huge tom didn't seem to notice. He was already on his way to his three friends.

"Don't even try to escape, Flypaw. We'll catch you." He warned, glancing over his shoulder at Flypaw as he padded away. The black apprentice flattened his ears and looked away. _Stupid cat! He couldn't catch me if he tried! _Flypaw thought angrily, but inside he knew that he would never get away from these cats if he tried running.

He looked up when four shadows were cast in front of him. It was the loners. Flypaw crouched below them, frightened, as he waited for something to happen. Sun spoke first, her strange blue eyes kind and understanding.

"Don't worry, Flypaw. We won't hurt you. We just need you as…" she hesitated, and Ripple shouldered his way forward, the muscles his lanky black legs twitching as he did so. The blue gray tom spoke, his voice rough.

"As a hostage." Flypaw's mouth dropped open in disbelief. He quickly closed it and narrowed his eyes. Then he opened his mouth again to retort angrily, but he was cut off by Dawn. Her pretty orangeish eyes were kind like Sun's as she spoke.

"We'll feed you and even let you train with us. But you'll have to stay in that tunnel at night. If you'd like, we could sleep with you so you won't get lonely." Her suggestion was very sweet, and Flypaw found a surge of gratitude towards the pretty ginger she-cat. But he forced himself to keep his eyes cold.

"No," he spat, and Dawn recoiled as if clawed. "I don't want to share a den with the likes of _you._" He didn't mean for it to come out so harsh, but it did. Silver gave Dawn a gentle nudge to console her and stared down at Flypaw with his bi-colored eyes.

"We _need_ the Clan to accept us and allow us to stay in the forest to begin ThunderClan, ShadowClan, WindClan, and SkyClan." He was going to continue, but Flypaw stopped him, a confused look on his face.

"S-SkyClan?" He asked. Silver's eyes narrowed, and Flypaw thought for a moment that he was going to be injured. But Sun spoke from behind him first.

"Yes, SkyClan. You were never told of them?" she asked. Flypaw shook his head. _Who could this strange Clan be?_ He wondered. Sun continued with a slight nod of her head.

"Long ago, there were five Clans in the forest. ThunderClan, who could hunt in the forest and undergrowth with ease. RiverClan, who loved water and could swim like fish. WindClan, who could run as fast as the wind and catch every rabbit that crossed their paths. ShadowClan, who could hunt very well at night and had a liking for marshy places. And lastly SkyClan, who could jump higher than any other Clan, thanks to their strong back legs.

"SkyClan lived in a sparse forest with trees with branches that reached higher than most. It wasn't a problem for them, however. SkyClan cats could leap into tall trees with great ease, so they had no need for low branches. But one day monsters came. Two-legs began to tear down SkyClan's home, and they were forced to flee. The other four Clans soon forgot about them, and stories of them were never passed down. It was as if they never existed.

"But then there was the Great Battle, in which all Clans were wiped out except for RiverClan. StarClan wants to reform the five Clans. They have decided to bring back SkyClan because there is much more room in the new territory and it is a great time to start anew. They came to us because we all have special abilities that suit us for the five Clans." She paused for a moment, and Flypaw was confused to see a flicker of unease behind her eyes. Then she plunged onwards, the unease clearing quickly.

"Silver is good at hunting in the forest and undergrowth, so he would obviously be a ThunderClan cat. Ripple is good at swimming, but that's only because he has strong back legs. He would be a SkyClan cat. Dawn is good at hunting at night, because she has sharp night vision, and her paws are well-adapted to marshy grounds, like the ones we are on right now, which used to be ShadowClan territory." Flypaw nodded, glad to know whose territory this used to be. Sun was about to finish, but Ripple butted in.

"And Miss Modesty over here is very, very fast and can catch rabbits like a true WindClan cat." Sun purred and nudged Ripple gently on the shoulder. Silver blinked warmly at his companions before speaking to Flypaw again.

"So you see, Flypaw, we aren't bad. We just want to help. You wanted us to stay when Furzestar sent us away, didn't you?" He said knowingly, and Flypaw nodded slowly.

"Yes, I guess I did. But why did you kidnap me? Why couldn't you be patient?" he asked. Silver's gaze darkened, and he glanced at the other three before answering.

"Well… I can't exactly tell you. But StarClan has warned us that something bad might be coming. We need to have Furzestar accept us soon. Although it would be nice to start our Clans right away, I would rather be taught under your warriors and become one before starting our own Clans. It will also help to build up Furzestar's trust in us so that she will allow us to start the other four Clans again." Flypaw nodded in understanding, but he still felt a little uneasy.

"Alright…" He meowed hesitantly. Then his ears perked up. "Are they going to be able to find me?" Silver glanced at the others, looking unsure. It was Dawn who spoke this time.

"Yes, sweetie. We made it very easy for them to find us. But we aren't going to let you go back to them until they agree to our… 'demands.' They will agree, though. You will see your friends again." Flypaw's eyes narrowed. How could she be so sure that they would agree with her? Could she see the future or something? No, that was ridiculous.

Ripple came forward again and crouched in front of Flypaw. The black apprentice gave him a very confused look. It all became clear when the blue-gray tom leapt at him, however. Battle training! His training came back very quickly, and the two soon were sparring like pros. Flypaw battled the other three until the sun began to sink low in the sky. He was then escorted back to his den like a prisoner, and all of the fun of the day was lost.

"Are you sure you don't want us to stay with you?" Dawn asked hopefully. Flypaw hesitated, and then shook his head no.

"No, thanks. I'd rather be on my own." Dawn nodded, looking a little sad, but merely left him alone in the cave. Flypaw ate the squirrel he had been brought slowly and then curled up. His mind ran through the story that Sun had told him earlier as he drifted off to sleep.

. . .

Finchtalon's paws were really hurting now. They had been walking for hours and there was still no trace of Flypaw's or any of the four loners' scents. Sunnyheart was still next to him, her paws dragging tiredly beneath her. Finchtalon gave her a gentle nudge and she gave him a weary smile before turning her gaze back to the path ahead.

The only cat that was still full of energy was Furzestar. Her eyes were bright, her tail was up, and she was still padding along with the same sense of urgency that she had started with. Finchtalon shook his head and prayed to StarClan that they would either stop soon or catch a whiff of one of the cats. There was a sudden commotion ahead, and Finchtalon's ears pricked up in surprise as Emberblaze broke away from the group and thundered into the bushes.

His spirits dropped as he scented prey. She had just caught the scent of some delicious piece of prey. Great. The yellow and black warrior was therefore shocked when she came racing back to the group without a piece of prey in her jaws. Her eyes were bright with excitement, however. Furzestar hurried forward.

"What is it, Emberblaze?" she asked hopefully. The light gray she-cat bounced happily on her black paws.

"I scented one of those loners! I think it was… that ginger she-cat, Dawn!" she mewed. Furzestar's eyes lit up, as did Finchtalon's. _Finally, a glimmer of hope!_ He thought happily. Braveheart stepped forward and sniffed the air. His eyes gleamed in realization when he did so.

"Yes, I scent her as well, Furzestar. We are definitely on the right trail." Furzestar nodded to the dark gray tom and turned to the rest of the group.

"Well, it seems as if we are one step closer to finding Flypaw." She meowed, and all of the cats looked excited. "However, the sun is getting too low in the sky to continue tonight. We will find a place to rest tonight and continue in the morning." Finchtalon nodded in agreement, but his eyes flickered with disappointment.

He had wanted to find Flypaw _tonight__!_ Even one night alone with those terrible cats was one night too many. Furzestar flicked her tail and everyone followed her until they reached a little clearing in the middle of a forest. The trees were very tall and the ground was marshy, but Finchtalon didn't mind. His paws were about to drop off!

Finchtalon settled down next to Sunnyheart for the night. As he pulled his tail over his nose, the last thing he thought of was his mother. How strange.

. . .

Five cats were huddled in a semicircle around a bright pool. A muscular golden tabby tom lifted his head and stared across the pool at a pretty blue-gray she-cat. Her fierce blue eyes bore into his and she hissed angrily. A ginger tom stepped into the center of the pool and glared at the golden tabby tom, his eyes flashing. The golden tabby tom flattened his ears and looked away, so the ginger tom stepped back reluctantly.

"Don't start here, Lionstar. We're all on edge." It was a brown tabby tom that spoke. Lionstar glared at him momentarily before looking down into the pool, his gaze softening.

"I know, Onestar. Mistystar mistook my stare for a glare." He said quietly to his paws. Mistystar glanced at him, then flattened her ears in embarrassment.

"Sorry, Lionstar." she mumbled. Although she apologized, she still kept her chin high, showing obvious pride in the fact that she was the oldest one there. There was an annoyed hiss from the final cat, a brown and cream tabby she-cat. Her amber eyes gleamed in the darkness, and she spoke next, her tail lashing from side to side.

"We have more important things than apologies to cover." She growled, her gaze sweeping across each leader in turn. Onestar twitched his ears and watched the she-cat for a moment before he spoke.

"Leafstar is correct." He said quietly before continuing. "We do need to get down to business. We have gathered here tonight to talk about these four loners that we brought to the lake." Rownstar's eyes hardened as he listened to Onestar speak. When the brown tabby was done, he spoke next.

"I don't trust these four loners. How can that little she-cat, Dawn, lead ShadowClan with the intensity of a real ShadowClan warrior?" He asked angrily. Leafstar and Lionstar nodded in agreement.

"Ripple may have strong back legs, but he seems more adapted to being in RiverClan." Leafstar voiced her concerns, her tail twitching uneasily.

"And Silver may be big, but he seems too cruel to be a good leader of ThunderClan." Lionstar meowed. Onestar's eyes flashed in annoyance.

"Silence!" He snarled, and the other four cats looked at him with frightened eyes. The brown tabby tom stood up and paced back and forth in front of the pool. "These cats were chosen specifically by the first five leaders – Thunder, Wind, River, Shadow, and Sky. Do you question their judgment?" Lionstar's ears flattened in embarrassment.

"You're right, Onestar. We are only concerned about the future of our Clans. After that traitorous Breezestar –" The other four cats snapped their heads up and looked around in concern at the sound of his name. Lionstar twitched his ears before continuing. "Tried to destroy our Clans, we five have been waiting for the right cats to come along and restore our Clans. We just want them to do it right."

Mistystar nodded her head thoughtfully. "Yes, I was nervous when young Furzestar became leader. I had watched her grow up as a reckless kit, always diving headfirst into things without thinking it through first. But as she grew and learned under the ten survivors, I realized how perfect she was for the job. Her recklessness makes her a courageous leader, and her headstrong personality allows her to control her Clan without trouble." The other four cats nodded in agreement.

"Then it is decided. We will support these four cats on their journey to recreating our Clans. And we will do our best to help them when the darkness comes." Onestar meowed. He looked up as a cold breeze buffeted his fur. A dark shadow began moving rapidly in the five leaders' direction, and they all yowled in terror as it swallowed them whole.

**Oooh... so ominous! Or at least my best attempt at ominous. Tee-hee. I hope you enjoyed it! Because it was lots of fun to write this chapter. I tried my best to get it done fast, so I hope that it was good. Please R&R my lovelies!****  
**


	7. C h a p t e r 6 : New Members

**I know! I know! I know it's been forever... so I tried to make this chapter extra-long and more action packed! I probably failed... but whatever! Thank you to my lovely reviewers, Starfirebeam and Firestar1 Ember! You guys are really peaches. Hehe.**

**This chapter was fun to write... and it has more mystery! I also realized I haven't done a disclaimer... well, I don't own Warriors. Otherwise Whitestorm would have been leader, not Firestar! :3  
**

Flypaw opened his eyes to darkness and silence. It took him a moment to remember where he was, but when he did, he sprang to his paws and hissed in annoyance. Sand scattered beneath his paws as he dashed up the tunnel, desperate to get out. He skidded to a stop in front of the entrance and took a deep breath, ready to yell out.

But the stone slid aside before he could do so. Sun was standing there, her strange blue eyes watching Flypaw with amusement. Flypaw looked at her reproachfully and in shock.

"How did you know I was going to yell?" He asked, his ears flattening against his head. Sun's ears twitched, and she looked away uncomfortably. Her ears pricked up in relief when Silver walked up. The burly tom glanced at his friend before watching Flypaw with careful eyes.

"You make enough racket to wake all of the prey in the forest!" He said, his voice light with amusement. Flypaw's eyes narrowed uncertainly, however. He could detect the slight edge to the loner's voice, which made him suspect that Silver was not completely telling the truth.

"Thanks." He said sarcastically, glancing at Ripple and Dawn as they padded up. Ripple held a large mouse in his jaws. He dropped it at Flypaw's paws and sat back silently. Flypaw watched the four for a moment before bending down and quickly devouring the mouse.

"So, what are we doing today?" He asked, licking his lips free of blood. Silver smiled lightly and stretched his paws out in front of him before answering.

"I thought we could go for a little hunting lesson. We hunt differently than you Clan cats do. I think you'll find the lesson very helpful." he meowed. Flypaw nodded and felt his insides squirm in anticipation. He was going to learn something new!

Sun smiled at the look on his face and stood up, her mottled tail twitching. Dawn, Ripple, and Silver stood up as well, almost in unison. They followed her silently as she padded into the forest. Knowing that he was to follow, Flypaw leapt to his paws and quickly trotted after the four loners.

The forest was full of sounds and scents, and Flypaw's eyes widened at the strange new things he was seeing. Having lived by the river his whole life, he hardly even knew that forests had this many creatures in them. There were squirrels and mice and birds! Birds were his favorite. They flitted by on wings that seemed barely able to hold them up, and he marveled at how they could do it. Dawn fell in step beside him, purring in amusement as she watched him.

"It's different, isn't it?" She asked, and Flypaw nodded in agreement.

"Yes, I've lived by the river my whole life and I've hardly ever seen the forest. It's so much different!" He meowed, his voice full of awe. Dawn opened her mouth to speak, but she was cut off when Silver slapped his tail over her mouth. She gave him a reproachful look and opened her mouth to retort, but stopped when she spotted something. Flypaw tipped his head to one side, confused. What had she seen?

"There's a mouse over there. Open your mouth and scent it. Forest hunting is not like fishing. You have to rely on what you can smell, not what you can see." Silver meowed quietly, and Flypaw nodded, narrowing his eyes in concentration. He opened his mouth and allowed the forest scents to rush in.

The amount of smells was shocking. He could smell the mouse, of course, but he could also smell at least three other animals – a squirrel, a bird, and a shrew. There was also the tangy smell of the forest, the smell of the pine needles, and of the damp dirt. Flypaw blinked at Silver, his face blissful, and the gray tom smirked.

"Lots, aren't there?" He asked, and Flypaw nodded. He watched as Sun dropped into a crouch and skimmed slowly across the ground, her paws light and her tail low, but never brushing any leaves or branches. She was a silent predator stalking her prey. Flypaw watched in awe as she paused for just a split second before springing forward at lightning speed and trapping the mouse between her paws. She finished it with a quick bite to its neck and turned towards them with her prey in her jaws.

"Wow!" Flypaw meowed, and Sun dipped her head in acknowledgement to his praise. She dropped it at her companion's paws and turned her head to Silver. He nodded to her before speaking.

"As you can see, hunting in the forest is much different than fishing. You have to actually stalk your prey and be fast enough to catch it, while when you fish you only need to be fast at hooking the fish. However, it shouldn't be too hard to teach. Sun will show you the hunter's crouch." Flypaw turned his gaze to the pretty tortoiseshell and watched as she dropped into the same crouch that she had used to stalk the mouse.

He did his best to copy her, and listened as he was corrected. Soon enough, he was skimming across the ground like Sun had, only not nearly as well. Silver nodded in approval to the crouch.

"Very good. You may need a little practice, but I think you are ready to try it out for real." Flypaw's ears pricked up in excitement and he twitched his tail, opening his mouth to draw in the forest scents. Right away he picked up the scent of a squirrel, but it was faint, probably long gone by now. There was a bird scent as well, but he knew that Silver wanted him to try ground prey first. Finally, he scented a vole.

Dropping into the crouch that Sun had taught him, Flypaw began to slink across the ground like an expert, feeling the thrill of what he was doing in his belly. But just as he got close enough to see the vole, scratching at the ground, a twig snapped beneath one of his paws. The vole froze and then ran, and Flypaw leapt forward, desperately giving chase. But the last he saw of his prey was its tail disappearing into a hole.

"Foxdung!" Flypaw cursed, his tail lashing back and forth in agitation. He padded back to the four loners with his head down. Ripple gave him a gentle nudge with one of his muscular shoulders.

"Don't worry, you'll get it next time." He rumbled, and Flypaw nodded absently. He wanted to try again right now! But just as he was about to ask, he saw the four loners freeze. The RiverClan apprentice froze as well, his fur starting to bristle. He opened his mouth to find out what they had scented, and he was shocked when the scent of RiverClan flooded into his mouth.

. . .

Finchtalon trudged along with the rest of the patrol, feeling very exhausted from their travel. Emberblaze was next to him, her tail drooping and her eyes half-closed from exhaustion. The yellow and black warrior looked around at his Clan and was sad to see that everyone looked tired, save for Furzestar. She looked as alert as she had when they started out one sunrise ago. Finchtalon shook his head. _She sure is determined._ He thought.

They continued along in silence for a while longer. Finchtalon was jolted out of his tiredness when he bumped into Fallowpaw. He muttered a quick apology and looked up. Furzestar's fur was bristling and so was Hailstorm's. Finchtalon's fur immediately began to bristle in response, and he could feel the tension in the air.

"What is it?" He hissed into Emberblaze's ear. The light gray she-cat glanced at him and shrugged, her fur bristling in fear as well. Furzestar turned to them, her spotted pelt gleaming in the sunlight.

"I can smell them right ahead. They're –" She was cut off when another voice came from the bushes. It was deep and yet soothing, and Finchtalon quickly recognized it as the voice of one of the loners, Silver.

"We can smell you too, Furzestar." Finchtalon's eyes widened in terror as the huge gray tom padded out of the bushes, flanked by his three friends. Silver halted a few mouse-lengths in front of Furzestar and blinked calmly at her.

"Where is Flypaw?" She demanded bravely, drawing herself up to her full height. Although Furzestar was long-legged to begin with, she was barely the same height as the huge tom. Silver glanced at his companions before answering.

"We have him with us. In the bushes behind us, actually. But we won't give him to you until you agree to what we want." He meowed. Furzestar's ears flattened, and she glanced at Hailstorm. The burly white tom glared at the four loners.

"Tell us what you want. Then we will discuss and decide if we will agree or take our apprentice back with force." Silver dipped his head and obliged.

"We would like to join your Clan." Furzestar's eyes widened in shock, and suspicious murmurs began amongst the patrol. Finchtalon's eyes narrowed in confusion. _I thought that they wanted something more than that?_ He wondered. Furzestar's tail flicked for a moment, and then she nodded and padded away to talk to Hailstorm.

The two conversed quietly for a moment, and Finchtalon shifted nervously in his spot. He could smell Flypaw behind the four loners, and he only wished that he could fight his way through them to get to him. One of the loners seemed to sense his agitation.

"Are you Flypaw's mentor?" Finchtalon looked up in surprise as the ginger she-cat with the strange stripe down her back spoke to him. He nodded hesitantly. She gave him a small smile before speaking again.

"I'm sorry we're doing this. I know that mentors care for their apprentices as if they are their own kits. I promise that he has not been harmed." Finchtalon opened his mouth to retort, but he was stopped by a warning glance from Sunnyheart.

"It's not worth it." She meowed, and he nodded after a slight hesitation. Sunnyheart stood next to him and gently pressed her muzzle into his side.

"We'll get him back. Furzestar knows what she is doing." Finchtalon sighed, and nodded, knowing she was right. He touched his muzzle to hers before casting a glare in the loner's direction. She looked hurt and flattened her ears as she looked away.

Furzestar and Hailstorm were on their way back by then, both looking extremely nervous. Finchtalon watched as Furzestar stepped in front of her patrol again and spoke to Silver.

"Although we do not like it, we will allow you to join our Clan. But if you try anything, you will be attacked. You must always have a warrior escort when you leave camp, and you will have a separate den from the rest of the warriors. Now bring Flypaw out." Finchtalon was shocked. She was letting them join the Clan? He could hear his shock echoed in his Clanmates. They all looked very unhappy with the decision, but Furzestar ignored them. Silver nodded gratefully.

"Thank you, Furzestar. I promise you will not regret this decision. Dawn, bring Flypaw out." He directed the last bit to the she-cat who had spoken to Finchtalon earlier. She nodded and disappeared into the bushes, appearing moments later with a black apprentice in tow.

"Flypaw!" Finchtalon called happily, and his apprentice turned to look at him.

"Finchtalon!" He cried, running from Dawn's side and skidding to a stop in front of his mentor. Finchtalon shoved his muzzle into his apprentice's side and breathed in his familiar scent. Flypaw pulled away and grinned, head-butting his mentor affectionately.

Finchtalon looked up and saw the rest of the patrol purring in amusement at their exchange. He looked away, embarrassed, but looked back when Sunnyheart pressed her muzzle into his side.

"They're happy for you." She murmured. "As am I." Finchtalon relaxed and smiled at the pretty ginger and white she-cat.

"Thank you." he meowed quietly. He glanced away as Furzestar began to speak.

"RiverClan, loners, I think it is time to head home. We will travel until sun down and then rest if we are not close. Hailstorm, Braveheart, Emberblaze –" The three warriors straightened up when they heard their names. "You three will take up the rear." Her eyes blazed as she glared at the four loners, who slid into the middle of the group without arguing.

Finchtalon sighed as they began to walk again, this time with much more conversation. Flypaw was telling an animated tale of his kidnapping to Fallowpaw and Duskclaw as the four loners looked on in amusement. Sunnyheart padded next to him, her pelt brushing his occasionally. All was finally well.

. . .

"Finally! It took long enough for them to get accepted." Onestar grumbled, clawing at the ground. A mottled, brownish-gray tom with strange white splotches in his fur sat next to him, staring calmly into the clear pool.

"Yes, but I'm worried, Onestar. How will they get enough warriors to make their own Clans? And I'm supposed to look for potential medicine cats with Willowshine, Echosong, Jayfeather, and Flametail." He looked worried now, even though he had been calm just moments before. Onestar sighed and looked away.

"You worry to much, Kestrelflight. You'll see all in good time how they'll get enough warriors for their Clans. I know that it'll be hard to work with Jayfeather especially, but you're just going to have to try. Right now, RiverClan has more to worry about." Kestrelflight looked up sharply at his leader's last statement.

"You don't mean… not already?" He asked, his eyes widening in terror. Onestar nodded, looking unhappy.

"Yes, soon. Soon enough, RiverClan will find out how important having five Clans in the forest is. They will be begging the loners to start their own Clans. But for now… Furzestar has some business to take care of."

The two WindClan cats sat side-by-side and stared into the pool in silence, waiting for the terror that was to come.

. . .

Flypaw's paws were about to drop off. They had been walking for the whole day and he wasn't sure he could go much farther. He glanced ahead to Furzestar, whose ears were still pricked and alert as if they had just started out. Suddenly, his ears picked up the sound of rushing water. Excitement sparked in his belly. _It's the river! We _must_ be close now!_ He thought, glancing at his mentor.

Finchtalon looked equally as thrilled to scent the river, and he let out a gentle sigh before looking at Sunnyheart. A prickle of jealousy bit at Flypaw's heart as he realized how close the two warriors had gotten while he was away. It had only been a few days too! But just as he was about to grumpily storm away, Furzestar halted.

"I'm sure by now that you have all scented the river. Although I know you are all exhausted, we are going to continue until we get into camp. It'll be much safer there, and I'm sure that the Clan is missing us." The patrol murmured their agreement, and Furzestar nodded before turning and leading them onward.

"I'm so glad we're almost home," Fallowpaw meowed, trotting up next to Flypaw. "I can't wait to stretch out in my nest and sleep for a moon!" Flypaw purred in agreement. He sure felt as if he could sleep for a moon.

"I know what you mean." Flypaw began. "I think I deserve to be out of apprentice duties for the next moon!" He meowed, groaning inwardly at the thought of having to clean out the elder's den.

"Do you now, Flypaw?" The black apprentice's eyes widened. He knew that voice. He turned around slowly and felt his stomach sink when his fears were confirmed.

"Uh, I was just kidding around, Finchtalon!" Flypaw said, grinning sheepishly. Finchtalon's amber eyes narrowed for a moment, then grew bright.

"I know, I'm just teasing you!" His mentor meowed, nudging his apprentice roughly. Flypaw stumbled to one side and then launched himself onto the yellow and black warrior. They tussled for a moment before Finchtalon came up on top.

"Are you two quite done?" an amused voice came from above Flypaw. He shoved Finchtalon off of him and scrambled to his paws. Hailstorm was looking down at him with a stern look on his face. Flypaw shook the sand from his pelt and looked down at his paws.

"Sorry, Hailstorm. I'm just a little excited to be going home." He meowed. Hailstorm purred and flicked his tail across Flypaw's nose.

"I know. But you're holding up the patrol. So get moving!" Flypaw nodded and darted back to Fallowpaw's side, his paws slipping slightly on the loose ground. Finchtalon dipped his head to Hailstorm before falling back into step with Sunnyheart.

Camp was closer than Flypaw realized, so he was very surprised to see the familiar reed barrier that surrounded their camp. He let out an excited mew and quickened his pace. As he looked around, he noticed the same change in his Clanmates. Everyone was walking quicker and their heads and tails were up. They were all glad to finally be home.

As they pushed through the reeds and into camp, he could already hear warriors stirring in their nests. The first cats to greet them were Daisypaw and Fallenleaves, who obviously had watch. Daisypaw was ecstatic. She pressed her muzzle to Flypaw's and smiled warmly at him.

"It's great to have you back!" the pretty white she-cat meowed. Flypaw grinned back.

"It's good to _be_ back." He responded, and Daisypaw's tail flicked happily. Fallenleaves interrupted the happy moment, however, when he shoved his way into the center of the patrol.

"But what are _they_ doing here?" He asked with a pointed look at the four loners. The loners shifted uncomfortably as they waited for Furzestar to say something. However, she merely pushed past Fallenleaves and padded deeper into camp. She headed straight for ReedPile and leapt on top of it.

"May all cats old enough to catch their own prey please gather here beneath ReedPile for a Clan meeting!" She called. Flypaw watched as the RiverClan cats poked their heads out of their dens and sleepily made their way into the clearing. They looked surprised to see the patrol back already, but greeted them with happy mews. The loners got a different greeting however – angry and suspicious glares.

"I'm sure you are all wondering why these four loners are here," Furzestar began. Yowls rose from below.

"Of course we are! You're the one who sent them away, and now you're bringing them back?" Flypaw recognized Nightfall, one of the elders. His fur bristled as he challenged Furzestar. The long-legged leader didn't seem fazed, however. She just dipped her head.

"I trust your judgment, Nightfall, but I stand by my reasoning. These loners wish to join our Clan –" The yowls got louder and angrier, and Furzestar had to fight to be heard. "And they will! No arguments!" The Clan fell silent, but the tension was tangible.

"We will welcome them into the Clan with open paws. Warriors will escort them at all times, and they may not sleep in the warriors den, but they are our guests. I will not tolerate anyone talking badly about them. They will receive warrior names as well, but they do not get a ceremony." Furzestar glanced down at the loners for a moment, as if deciding what to call them.

"Silver, you are now Silvermask. Sun, you are Sunfall. Ripple, Rippleheart, and Dawn, Dawnstripe. That is all." Furzestar leapt down from ReedPile and vanished into her den. Hailstorm was quick to follow, Cloverpatch on his heels. Flypaw looked around in shock. Had that all really just happened?

"Are you going to welcome the new warriors into your Clan?" A voice behind Flypaw made him jump. He spun around and found himself face to face with Silver – no, Silver_mask_, Sun_fall, _Ripple_heart, _and Dawn_stripe._

"Welcome!" Flypaw meowed warmly, the tip of his tail twitching. "I'm so glad you guys have your warrior names are. Isn't it great having one?" The words came out in a rush, and Dawnstripe purred in amusement at his babble.

"Yes, it is quite nice. I feel more Clanlike already." She meowed, just as Duskclaw padded by and cast an angry glare in their direction.

"Or not." Rippleheart muttered, his claws unsheathing. He looked like he was about to claw Duskclaw's throat out, but he was stopped by Silvermask. The burly dark gray tom blinked calmly at his friend.

"This is not the place to fight, Rippleheart. We are Clanmates with these cats now. We must not fight amongst ourselves." Rippleheart's ears flattened unhappily, but after a slight hesitation he nodded.

"You're right, sorry, Silvermask." He murmured. Finchtalon padded up, his amber eyes bright against the dark sky. Flypaw dipped his head in greeting to his mentor and waited for him to speak.

"Welcome, you four." Finchtalon was polite, but Flypaw could see the tension in his limbs. It was obvious that he still did not trust the four former loners, and that made Flypaw angry. Couldn't they see that these cats were sent from StarClan? He flicked his tail angrily and stood up to leave.

"I'm going to bed. It's been a long few days. Good-night, everyone." Flypaw muttered, stalking away angrily and leaving a confused Finchtalon in his wake. He ducked into the apprentice's den and found that his nest between Driftpaw and Daisypaw was still there. Sighing in relief, he padded over and curled up, his flank brushing Driftpaw's. His brother lifted his head and blinked sleepily.

"Oh, sorry, Flypaw. I didn't realize you were back." He paused to yawn. "I must've missed the meeting. What happened?" He asked, his voice still tired. Flypaw pressed his muzzle to his brother's before answering.

"I'll fill you in tomorrow morning." He said quietly, hoping he wasn't disturbing Morningpaw and Talonpaw. Fallowpaw and Daisypaw hadn't turned in yet. Driftpaw nodded and rested his head on his paws for a moment before lifting it again and staring into Flypaw's eyes.

"It's nice to have you back, brother. I've missed you." he meowed warmly. Flypaw grinned and head butted his brother's flank.

"And it's nice to see you, Driftpaw." he murmured. The dark gray tabby tom nodded before resting his head on his paws. After a short while, he began snoring lightly. Flypaw felt his eyelids drooping, but his body still felt awake. He shifted restlessly for a few moments before tucking his head on top of his paw. He drifted off to sleep soon after and was soon sleeping deeply. But things were brewing around him.

. . .

Furzestar paced back and forth in front of Hailstorm, Cloverpatch, Pouncefoot, and Graymist. Her fur bristled in agitation and her eyes were drooping from exhaustion. Hailstorm took a step forward, his white pelt gleaming in the fading light.

"Furzestar, I trust your judgment, but should we really let these loners in without StarClan's approval?" He asked, tensing up as the long-legged she-cat turned on him, her eyes furious. She looked as if she were going to leap on him, but after a moment she relaxed and looked down.

"I understand your concerns, Hailstorm. I share them as well. But I don't know what to do anymore! StarClan has abandoned us. They sent Bumbletail a message but killed her for telling us. They've sent Flypaw dreams but haven't killed him for telling us. Why is this? I don't understand anything anymore. Perhaps these four loners are correct. Maybe StarClan really _did_ send them." Graymist hissed in disbelief and looked away.

"I don't know, Furzestar. The last I can remember of loners or kittypets being taken into a Clan was when Firestar reigned. He allowed almost every loner or kittypet that needed help join the Clan. They all seemed all right, though. But none of them were sent from StarClan." Furzestar sighed heavily and sat down, thinking hard.

"We will let them train with us for now. But we must keep a close eye on them. Hailstorm, be sure to always send them out with strong warriors, and let's keep them out of battle training for a moon or so. Let them fish, patrol, and guard, but no fighting. We don't need them strong enough to take down the Clan." Hailstorm dipped his head and disappeared from the den. Furzestar addressed Cloverpatch next.

"Cloverpatch, make sure to tell me of any dreams from StarClan and I would like you to act kind of as a spy. Whenever you are in camp with the loners, try and keep an ear in their direction to see if you can hear anything suspicious." The medicine cat nodded nervously before disappearing from the den. Furzestar addressed Pouncefoot and Graymist last.

"You two will also act as spies, and will accompany the loners on most patrols or hunts that they are on. Just listen in on their conversations to try and learn more about them. Now go and rest." The two turned to leave, but Furzestar spoke once again. "Pouncefoot, you may sleep in tomorrow, I thank you for watching camp for me." The ginger warrior nodded and vanished with Graymist into the darkness.

Furzestar sighed and flopped down onto her nest. It was fresh, probably thanks to Daisypaw or one of the new apprentices. _I must remember to ask Daisypaw and Fallowpaw's mentors to assess them soon… we need more warriors._ She thought sleepily, her eyes beginning to close. Before she slept, however, she looked to StarClan and prayed silently. _Please, StarClan, if you are still there, send me some kind of sign about these loners…_

**Oooh... will Furzestar finally get a dream from StarClan? Who could Onestar and Kestrelflight be afraid of? Will RiverClan ever accept the loners? Find out next time! Please review... and I hope you enjoyed!**_  
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